Flight Safety Information June 11, 2010 - No. 115 In This Issue Europe Steps Up Efforts to Collect Aviation-Safety Data Pilot Crashes Training Jet at NAS Kingsville FAA Studying Use, Control Of Unmanned Aircraft In National Airspace International Helicopter Community Plans Helo Version of IS-BAO CAPACG - HFDM Noise Study - Using Flight Data "Outside the Box Relatives of Air France crash Victims Want More Transparency ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Europe Steps Up Efforts to Collect Aviation-Safety Data By ANDY PASZTOR NEW ORLEANS-European regulators plan to step up efforts to collect incident data involving pilots and air-traffic controllers, as agencies seek more information about potentially dangerous lapses in aviation safety. According to many safety experts on both sides of the Atlantic, European regulators lag behind Federal Aviation Administration officials in gathering details about serious mistakes or safety missteps. In the U.S, voluntary reports by pilots, controllers and mechanics are funneled straight to the FAA. But in Europe, where aviation oversight is fragmented among more than 25 national authorities, EASA only began collecting and analyzing such data three years ago. Reports about safety problems from pilots, controllers and others go first to national regulators, who are then supposed to pass them on unfiltered to the European Aviation Safety Agency. EASA wants to assemble a more complete picture of the region's commercial-aviation hazards, including cockpit mistakes that sometimes aren't reported to regulators. "We need more data in our system" to better assess and reduce risks, said agency chief Patrick Goudou. The initiative, disclosed at U.S.-European aviation conference here, also is intended to help agency officials participate more fully in data-sharing with their U.S. counterparts and international air-safety organizations. Though still at an early stage, the goal of such cooperation is to build comprehensive and reliable databases to allow regulators to identify and eliminate safety hazards before they can cause accidents. Some European airlines, as well as regulators from a few countries in the region, still balk at promptly or completely turning over potentially embarrassing incident data, safety experts say. Speaking at the conference, Mr. Goudou acknowledged that EASA currently has "difficulties" collecting all the occurrences that should be reported. He said a new safety roadmap slated to be approved next year by the European Union is expected to plug that gap and has won "a lot of promises of data-sharing." EASA, among other things, hopes to tap the expertise and staff of some national regulators to analyze data. Mr. Goudou gave an example of the challenges stemming from spotty and unreliable reporting. Before the high-profile crash of an Air France Airbus A330 last summer in the Atlantic Ocean, regulators received very few pilot reports about malfunctions of external speed sensors. But after investigators determined that ice buildup on those sensors likely contributed to the crash, there was a flurry of pilot reports about similar problems with the sensors on other aircraft. More recently, the flow of reports about such problems has dried up. "It's a tough cultural question we have to resolve," Mr. Goudou said in an interview. "Pilots tend to deal with the most pressing issues," so they often fail to file reports on other matters. John Vincent, the EASA official in charge of the information-gathering initiative, told the conference the agency is "trying to establish complete access to all the safety data that is available." But Mr. Vincent added the effort has been slowed because some countries "are not happy with that." Some airlines and national regulators are bound to be "nervous about sharing with the larger global community," he said. Debate over incident data reporting has been under way in Europe for years, but until this week EASA officials hadn't publicly outlined steps they intend to take to improve the situation. EASA currently has about 300,000 incident reports available for analysis. Earlier this year, the FAA, EASA and two international air-safety organizations signed a preliminary agreement to move toward widespread sharing of safety data. But in Europe, calls for more voluntary reporting are hampered by legal systems that under some circumstances, permit such information to obtained by prosecutors. Voluntary safety reports in the U.S. typically are protected from use by prosecutors or in civil suits. EASA was created early in this decade as the European-wide aviation safety regulator, but its staff is still growing and it is still years away from assuming full responsibility for areas such as airports and pilot licensing and training. http://online.wsj.com/ [http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?et=1103472987215&s=6053&e=001gxLlA03CUErYTVp0NUaX43s6YdMDA3Wt29H8u8vYHZKEpvi9_AaoS64CuqRfIeIuH5SZ4trN99ent7ZLQrb4W0A98lmDXT84A3HP1OB0AjYFVMi5B9K8QQ==] Back to Top ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Pilot Crashes Training Jet at NAS Kingsville KINGSVILLE--An investigation is underway at NAS Kingsville tonight after a pilot crash landed a training jet this morning. The Navy said the pilot walked away from the accident with minor injuries after ejecting from the cockpit. Ultimately, the jet flipped upside down after going off the end of the 8000 foot runway. At this point, no one is commenting on what might have caused this accident. "They'll be looking through the aircraft to see if there is anything that stands out," said Lt. Brett Dawson, a public affairs officer for the Naval Air Training Command . "They talk with the pilot. They'll go through tapes of the flight. They look at every little aspect of this mishap to determine what the causes was." As a matter of routine, the Navy shut down both runways at NAS Kingsville to allow investigators to do their jobs. Things there are expected to return to normal in a day or two. http://www.kiiitv.com/news/local/96101524.html Back to Top ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ FAA Studying Use, Control Of Unmanned Aircraft In National Airspace Bingen, WA, United States (AHN) - The Federal Aviation Administration and unmanned aircraft builder Insitu Inc. will jointly undertake research on how to safely integrate and control unmanned aircraft in national airspace. They announced the project Wednesday with Insitu providing two ScanEagle unmanned aircraft system, hardware and data. The ScanEagle is capable of 24 hours of search and rescue, fire and flood monitoring, and for guiding evacuations during bad weather. Part of the two-year project is the training of FAA personnel on flying and controlling the ScanEagle. Currently, unmanned aircraft are allowed in the U.S. only with a waiver from the FAA. Read more: http://www.allheadlinenews.com/articles/7018955444#ixzz0qY0tznkw Back to Top ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ International Helicopter Community Plans Helo Version of IS-BAO Agreement Signed This Week At ILA Berlin Key figures from the helicopter and business aviation community signed an agreement on the development and management of an IS-BAO (Helicopter Edition) at the ILA Berlin Airshow 2010 Wednesday. Motivated by a goal to improve the international helicopter accident rate by 80%, the European Helicopter Association (EHA), Helicopter Association International (HAI), British Helicopter Association (BHA) and the International Business Aviation Council (IBAC) have reached a formal agreement to develop a code of best practices for helicopter operations based on the existing International Standard for Business Aircraft Operations (IS-BAO) and to propose options for a verification audit program to achieve an IS-BAO (Helicopter Edition) Certificate of Registration. IS-BAO is a set of performance-based standards that use a safety management system as its cornerstone and addresses operations, maintenance, training and other related issues. The standards also provide linkages to the regulations and recommended practices specified by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) and to national aviation regulations. The International Business Aviation Council (IBAC) introduced a business aviation version of the IS-BAO program in 2002, with an aim to foster standardized, safe and highly professional aircraft operations. Since then, more than 1000 copies of the manual have been purchased. The signatory parties who came together for the signing of the IS-BAO (HE) agreement were Helicopter Association International President, Matt Zuccaro (also co-chair of the International Helicopter Safety Team) and HAI Chairman Mark Gibson; British Helicopter Association Chairman, Brian Humphries (also President and CEO of the European Business Aviation Association EBAA); and Chairman of the European Helicopter Association, Dr. Ing. Vittorio Morassi. IBAC Director General, Don Spruston, signed the agreement simultaneously from the Council's headquarters in Montreal, Canada. "IS-BAO is a code of best practice developed by the industry for the benefit of the industry. It is our contribution to promoting highly professional and safe operational practices," said British Helicopter Association Chairman Brian Humphries. "IS-BAO has already demonstrated its safety effectiveness and standardization benefits in the business aviation sector, and we are confident that it will achieve similar results for the global helicopter operating community," added new European Helicopter Association Chairman Dr. Ing. Vittorio Morassi. "This historic safety initiative is in keeping with the goals of HAI and our soon to be implemented Safety Accreditation Program, as well as the International Helicopter Safety Team mission" stated Helicopter Association International President, Matt Zuccaro, adding that "while the core standards for the IS-BAO (HE) will be unchanged from those created for the business aviation community, contents of the helicopter version will uniquely include a Helicopter Hazard Assessment and Operations Manual Templates for Offshore, Onshore IFR & VFR, Special Ops and HEMS". "This is one more major step in ensuring that the gold safety standard is recognized around the world," said Donald Spruston, IBAC Director General from Montreal where he is briefing the Council of the International Civil Aviation Organization on related matters. Now that the agreement has been signed, a Steering Committee will be formed, responsible for the development process, including establishing policy as required. Furthermore a Working Group, selected by members of the Steering Committee, will be charged with developing the actual IS-BAO (HE). The IS-BAO Standards Board will approve the contents. FMI: www.eha-heli.eu, www.britishhelicopterassociation.org, www.rotor.com, www.ibac.org Back to Top ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ CAPACG - HFDM Noise Study - Using Flight Data "Outside the Box" CAPACG analyst generate HFDM Noise Study The power of properly used flight data is demonstrated in this De-identified HFDM Noise Study. 2010_05_Noise_Study_Report_DEID This study was designed to monitor and evaluate the trend of low altitude flights in a specific area in response to two noise complaints, one made to the certificate holder and the second to the FAA/FSDO. The time period established to analyze the flight data within the operator FOQA program started in January 1, 2010 and ended in May 31, 2010. The best manner to conduct this study was to design events to be triggered whenever the aircraft flies over or nearby the complaint spot. In order to accomplish this, two square areas around the complaint spot were determined. This study was designed to monitor and evaluate the trend of low altitude flights in a specific area in response to two noise complaints, one made to the certificate holder and the second to the FAA/FSDO. The time period established to analyze the flight data within the operator FOQA program started in January 1, 2010 and ended in May 31, 2010.The best manner to conduct this study was to design events to be triggered whenever the aircraft flies over or nearby the complaint spot. In order to accomplish this, two square areas around the complaint spot were determined. http://www.capacg.com/wpcore/2010/06/capacg-hfdm-noise-study-using-flight-data-outside-the-box/ [http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?et=1103472987215&s=6053&e=001gxLlA03CUEoMXcvgzX4cODjOd7mI0xA3XHu-5cgrTOuvVeL_wNg1PGX5boykDisIUQ2wK5BTLs8cCyjOF-cY2GQy1pON4I835PNbZxJtHi1K_rC6haOfMa7wzIfTFOqlsHHGDmRGXAF_ucu6s-rndDe5A3PdFSpKOu7sQwfvkPobLd-Bc3WJKCyaj1NVBGauY5pJegtoHBBHbrGEUKnOFt-ytcnllmBT] Back to Top ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Relatives of Air France crash Victims Want More Transparency PARIS-A year ago, on June 1, 2009, Air France AF447 flight disappeared on its way back to Paris from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, killing 228 passengers and crew members. The last communication AF447 had with Brazilian flight controllers was at 1:35 a.m. By 2:15 a.m., the plane had crashed. The causes of the catastrophe still remain unclear. Several parts of the Airbus A330 plane and bodies of passengers were found, but the flight recorders were never retrieved despite months of military ships searching for it. Additionally, around than 170 bodies and 95 percent of the plane itself have not been recovered and are sitting over 13,000 feet below sea levels. Speed Calculators at Fault The last hope of retrieving the flight recorders died this month at the close of the third search campaign in the Atlantic Ocean. Experts still disagree on the best way to investigate the crash, but all agree at least on the probable cause: defective airspeed indicators known as pitot tubes that are located below the cockpit. The suspected defect in the sensors forced Airbus to change them on all A330 and A340 planes in July 2009. The BEA (Bureau d'enquêtes et d'analyses pour la sécurité de l'aviation civile), the French body responsible for technical investigations into civil aviation accidents, released a 128-page interim report on the subject last December. The BEA stated that "no distress messages were received by the control centres or by other airplanes." However, "twenty-six maintenance messages relative to flight AF447 were received. Twenty-four of them... between 2:10 a.m. and 2:15 a.m." Families Criticize the Investigations The BEA, however, thinks that other factors such as bad weather may have also played a role in the disaster. Several associations of relatives of the victims held a press conference in Paris on May 31 criticizing BEA's interpretation as well as what they called the opacity of the investigations. Le Monde newspaper quoted the groups saying it is strange that the French justice system and BEA "refuse to consider the [pitot tube] defect as an absolutely crucial element." "Negating evidence and denying reality should not serve as a pretext to those who failed to assume their duty of flight security." "We will not give up" in the search for truth, answered vice-Minister for transportation Dominique Bussereau, who attended a commemorative ceremony in Paris on June 1. Later the same day, Bussereau announced the creation of an "information committee" to answer the discontent of relatives of the victims who told French media that the only information they could get about the investigations was through the press. It came to the point that some family members no longer believe that they will ever learn the truth of what happened to their loved ones. "I'm sure we will never have answers, even if flight recorders are found. Air France is a large company and I don't have a lot of hope," said Saïd Benotmane, the relative of a victim, to Le Point newspaper. According to the SNPL (Syndicat national des pilotes de lignes, or National Airline Pilot Union), that published its own investigation report on June 1, "between 2003 and 2009, 32 instances of pitot tubes icing have been reported on Airbus A330 and A 340. And almost all happened on planes equipped with Thales probes [a device to measure the temperature of the air flow surrounding the airplane]. This does not seem to have warned authorities," reports Le Figaro newspaper. http://www.theepochtimes.com/n2/content/view/36644/ Back to Top ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Curt Lewis, P.E., CSP CURT LEWIS & ASSOCIATES, LLC